Mind Over Mutter

Caught this shot on the beach last week. It's a very pretty plant with sharp barbs that will tear you right up if you're not careful.

Suits my mood tonight.

Came back to the office from a week away to discover that new name plates had been made for myself and the other members of the ID team. They were very pretty, and much ado was made about them.

There was only one problem with mine. They got my name wrong, and no one-- not my co-workers, my boss, or anyone else who saw the sign beside my door-- noticed until I got back from Miami. You would have been proud of me. I didn't go ballistic, I simply sent an e-mail complimenting the work and pointing out the error as an FYI.

This just sucks. I've been on this project for 18 months. The person who created the signs is someone I've worked with on a few small projects, and with whom I trade e-mail on a fairly regular basis. I suspect she could actually pick me out of a lineup even if everyone else in the group wasn't male and not caucasian. I'm actually her go-to person when she needs technical or practical assistance with imaging, presentation tools, Visio, graphics.... Iver the past year and a half, I've provided communications with high-res photos, shot at least a dozen different project events.....We attend a 2-hour group meeting together every single week. But she clearly doesn't know my name.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

When I pointed it out to her, she very graciously corrected it, but that's not the point. This was not a "slip of the fingers" typo unless her fingers are 6 inches across and hollow in the center. The P is on the second row on the right side of the keyboard, the B is on the fourth row in the center. The woman is in the communications department, has worked with me for months , and she doesn't know my freaking last name and/or didn't think to verify the spelling on the e-mail address book.

Remember that long-winded post about being **in** an environment every day but not really being a part of it? Welcome to my world. This is just one more example.

There's a "team social event" going on at a local tavern tonight. Gee, I wonder why I'm not just dancing in my shoes to get over there? I don't need free appetizers enough to play the game tonight. I'd be surly and cranky and if I had a drink might be tempted to tell the unvarnished truth...which is never a good career move.

I'm so tired of this stupidity. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss the people I love. I miss feeling like I'm "home" when I go to sleep at night. I really don't know how much more of this project I can take. I'm **so** not sure I can do this for another year.

I'm not burned out yet, but I'm definitely getting a little crispy around the edges.